Waiting in Hope

". . . so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 1:7-8

The summer is nearly over. All of those vacations and weekend getaways that you were looking forward to have come and gone (or presently enjoying your vacation!) . Whether it's a vacation or something smaller, we get excited about upcoming events. I'm excited to use my birthday present from my sister soon - a gift certificate for Outback! Our anticipation for our desires to be realized help us trudge through the daily grind. We think to ourselves, "I know this is hard, but I've only got a few more days until . . . "

In Scripture we are comforted over and over with promises from God while we wait our King's return. Paul begins his letter to the Corinthians with a prayer of thanksgiving for them acknowledging that they don't lack any gift while they wait for Jesus. This promise is true for believers today. During our anticipation for our King's return, we don't lack any spiritual gift. Yes, life is hard, but during while we wait God has provided for us. Waiting is difficult for us, from the time we were little and thought Christmas Day would never get here. During this time we wait for Jesus, we have been given gifts to open and use for God's glory.

God does give us what we need to sustain us until Jesus' return. It's no secret that waiting is hard, but it's important to focus on our anticipation of our Lord's return. Paul calls our attention to wait for our hope realized:

". . . as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. . . But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." Romans 8:23c, 25

"For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness." Galatians 5:5

"and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come." 1 Thessalonians 1:10

The greatest expectation that we as believers have is not our dream vacation or ideal all-you-can-eat restaurant. It's the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Reflect on our hope in the Lord today. Turn to the Scriptures listed about and read the surrounding verses.

Waiting in Hope

For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness, Gal. 5:5.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we put our faith in Him for the forgiveness of our sins. Rather than seeing ourselves as inherently good or able to measure up to God's perfect righteous standard, we trust in Jesus for His righteousness. Right now we are waiting to be declared righteous before God, our Father, and before all of our brothers and sisters. We see in Galatians continually that we don't rely on our ability or merits to stand before God. It's only by hearing with faith through the Spirit that brings righteousness. It's true that right now we are united with Christ and God credits us as righteous. However, those outside of Christ do not see us as perfectly righteous. Although we maybe viewed as good, decent people who try to live right. This view is vastly different from the perfect righteousness that God gives us.

In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Edmund is a despicable brother. He lies to his brother and sisters throughout the beginning of the story. His lies cause great problems and heartache for his family and for the entire country of Narnia. His lies lead to what seems to be the greatest catastrophe Narnia has ever known. Aslan, the King is killed by the White Witch who has held Narnia under her power for ages previously. Now that she killed Aslan, she will never be stopped. But death could not hold Aslan because of his great sacrifice of love. Edmund doesn't stay the loathsome character we first knew either. He repents and fights for his king, Aslan. At the end of the story the Pevensie family is crowned kings and queens of Narnia. When Aslan comes to Edmund, he crowns him king and declares him, not Edmund the Liar, but Edmund the Just. No matter how the world views you as that nasty liar you once were. You Father views you has righteous, and in the assembly of all you will be declared righteous. One day each of us will see our hope fulfilled.